This invention relates to systems and methods for dispensing multi-component products.
Antiperspirants, deodorants, and other personal care products are widely available in the form of solid or semi-solids sticks, gels and creams. The inactive ingredients used in these types of products, such as carriers/vehicles, emollients and structural agents (e.g., fatty alcohols and waxes), may inhibit or inactivate some of the active ingredients that would be desirable to use in the product. Thus, choices of ingredients for use in such products tend to be limited by issues of reactivity, other undesirable interaction between the ingredients, and syneresis (phase separation).
The ingredients selected for use in the product, and their relative proportions, may also be dictated by manufacturing constraints. For example, in order to obtain a product that is easily processed, it may be necessary to set the amount of a particular ingredient, e.g., fragrance, at a level that may not be optimal from a consumer standpoint. Moreover, temperature, shear or mixing may inactivate, entrap or volatilize certain ingredients.
In addition to these constraints, the formulator of personal care products is faced with the dilemma that product characteristics that are desirable to one consumer may be undesirable to another. For instance, different users may require different levels of deodorant or antiperspirant actives, or disagree on the optimal level of aesthetic modifiers such as fragrance. Moreover, different users have different body chemistries, which may result in different levels of effectiveness and comfort for a given product formulation.
The present invention features dispensing systems that allow a component of a multicomponent product to be maintained separate from other components of the product until the product is applied by a user. The dispensing systems include a dispenser body and a cap constructed to cover a dispensing end of the body. The separated component, which may contain one or more ingredients, is stored in a reservoir in the cap, and is applied by the user to the dispensing end when the user is about to apply the product. For instance, the dispenser body may contain a stick antiperspirant product containing a relatively low level of an antiperspirant active (or even no antiperspirant active), and the cap may contain a supply of the antiperspirant active, e.g., in powdered form. Thus, the composition of the stick may contain inactive substances that are advantageous for production of a stick product, even though such substances would tend to inhibit the antiperspirant active. Moreover, the user can choose whether to apply the antiperspirant active that is in the cap, and in preferred implementations can adjust the amount applied, and thus can tailor the amount of antiperspirant active in the product to suit his or her needs.
Because one component of the product can be separated from others until the product is applied, ingredients can be used in the product that, if mixed and stored, would be reactive or otherwise incompatible. The product can also be formulated to contain a minimal amount of ingredients such as fragrance, which some users may not like, in the body side, and an additional amount in the cap side, so that users can choose whether to augment the amount of that ingredient that is in the product.
In some preferred implementations, the user can select a desired dose of the component to be delivered from the cap. For example, if an antiperspirant active is provided in the cap, a user who expects to be in a hot environment can apply a large dose of the antiperspirant active to the dispensing end, while a user expecting to be in a cooler environment can apply a smaller dose. Similarly, if a fragrance is provided in the cap, the user can adjust the amount of fragrance in the product to suit his or her taste by adjusting the amount dispensed from the cap.
In other preferred implementations, the cap reservoir is empty when the product is sold to the user, and the cap is constructed so that the user can charge the reservoir with a desired component. For example, the component in the body may be fragrance-free, enabling the user to add a favorite perfume or cologne to the cap reservoir and thus obtain a custom-scented product.
Advantageously, the ability to deliver a component to the dispensing end of a dispenser body containing another component can result in increased efficacy of the product, and in enhanced sensory attributes such as improved glide and decreased negative attributes such as stickiness and white residue (because ingredients that enhance glide and reduce stickiness and white residue can be used even if they would ordinarily inactivate the active ingredients of the product). In preferred implementations, product customization is also provided, allowing users to tailor the product attributes to suit their personal tastes, requirements and body chemistries.
In one aspect, the invention features a dispensing system for a multi-component product. The dispensing system includes (a) a body, containing a first component of the product and having a dispensing end constructed to apply a portion of the first component to a surface; and (b) a cap, constructed to cover the dispensing end, containing a reservoir adapted to receive a second component of the product and being constructed to apply a portion of the second component to the dispensing end prior to applying the first component to the surface.
Implementations of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The first component is provided in a form selected from the group consisting of liquids, creams, gels, solids and semi-solids. The first component is provided in the form of a solid or semi-solid, and an end surface of the stick is exposed at the dispensing end. The first component is provided in the form of a liquid, and the dispensing end comprises a rolling ball constructed to deliver a film of the liquid to a surface. The first component is provided in the form of a liquid, and the dispensing end comprises a porous applicator, e.g., a foam or a sintered porous material. The first component is provided in the form of a gel, and the body includes a dispensing device for metering a dose of the gel to a dispensing surface at the dispensing end. The product is selected from the group consisting of antiperspirants, deodorants, antiperspirant/deodorants, toothpastes, sun screens, shaving preparations, aftershaves, condiments, soaps, candies, fabric softeners, laundry soaps, cosmetics, medications, paints, shoe polishes, floor cleaners, tub and tile cleaner, hair color treatments, window cleaners, and polishes and waxes. The second component is provided in the form of a powder or liquid. The second component is provided in the form of a compressed powder. The cap includes a dispensing device constructed to remove a portion of the powder using a grating action. The cap is constructed to deliver a predetermined dose of the second component onto the dispensing end when actuated by a user. The cap is constructed to allow the user to adjust the amount of the second component that is constructed to allow the user to adjust the amount of the second component that is delivered when the cap is actuated by a user. The cap, as supplied to the user, contains a supply of the second component in the reservoir. The cap includes an inlet constructed to allow a user to charge the reservoir with a supply of the second component. The second component is selected from the group consisting of antiperspirant actives, fragrances, anti-stain agents, anti-irritants, antiperspirant actives, deodorant actives, antimicrobials, anti-caking agents, film formers, glide enhancers, emollients, anti-whitening agents, absorbents, binders, exfoliants, buffering agents, cooling agents, heating agents, co-salts, encapsulants, antioxidants, skin conditioning materials, humectants, reducing agents, oxidation agents, opacifying agents, and UV absorbing agents. The cap includes a dispensing mechanism for delivering the second component to the dispensing end. The dispensing system further includes an actuator to allow a user to actuate the application of the second component, or, alternatively, an actuator that is constructed to automatically apply the second component, e.g., when the cap is removed. The dispensing mechanism is selected from the group consisting of sprays, atomizers, droppers, and powder delivery devices. The first and second components are reactive with each other. An ingredient in the first component would tend to inactivate an ingredient in the second component during storage. The surface includes human skin, hair, tongue or oral cavity. Alternatively, the surface includes a fabric, leather, or plastic.
The invention also features a method of dispensing a multi-component product from a dispenser having a dispensing end that is covered by a cap when the dispenser is not in use and that is constructed to apply a first component of the product to a surface. The method includes (a) removing the cap, (b) applying a second component, contained in the cap, to the first component at the dispensing end to form the multi-component product; and (c) contacting a surface with the dispensing end to apply the multi-component product to the surface.
Preferred implementations of the method may include one or more of the following features. The surface includes human hair, skin, tongue or oral cavity. The applying step includes adjusting the amount of the second component to be applied to the dispensing end.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.